1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to devices for throwing balls and, more particularly, is concerned with a ball throwing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Baseball and softball players often practice hitting and catching balls. It is generally necessary to have at least two people to practice, one to throw or hit balls and one to hit or catch balls. Sometimes, however, one person may desire to practice hitting and catching when a second person is not available. Various devices have been developed over the years which enable individuals to practice hitting and catching by themselves. These prior art devices typically are designed to throw a ball which an individual can either hit or catch.
Representative examples of prior art ball throwing devices and the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,585 to Farre, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,576 to Eade et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,544 to Glaser, U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,733 to Mitchell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,578 to Wright, U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,695 to Haller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,885 to Katada et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,264 to Abraham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,876 to Liscio et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,120 to Joseph. While the devices of the prior art patents appear to be satisfactory in use for the specific purposes for which they were designed, none of the devices seem to provide a solution which is versatile, inexpensive, lightweight, safe and portable.
Consequently, a need still exists for an apparatus which provides an optimum solution to the aforementioned problems in the prior art without introducing any new problems.